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A Study of Crime Incidence in Students' Halls of Residence in University of

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Research · September 2016

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 Academic Research International Vol. 7(4) September 2016
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A STUDY OF CRIME INCIDENCE IN STUDENTS’ HALLS OF

RESIDENCE IN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA

ADIGUN Folasade Oyenike 1, ABOLADE Olajoke, 2, James Olateju 3,

Morenikeji Timothy Oluseye4, Okeyinka, Yetunde Ronke5
1-4,
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, 5Department of Architecture,
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso,
NIGERIA.
1
foadigun@lautech.edu.ng

ABSTRACT
Crime is a social inhumane behaviour that continues to plague every sector in the
country, even in the educational sector which was created with a view to bestowing
knowledge to the young ones. This study examines the incidence of crime in students’
hall of residence in University of Ibadan.
Two female halls of residence, three male undergraduate halls of residence and one
postgraduate hall of residence with highest capacity were selected. From these, 4%
of the total population of students in the selected halls of residence was chosen. This
was sumed up to two hundred and eight (208) respondents. Four indices were
developed, these are: Crime Occurrence Index (COI), Causes of Crime Index (CCI),
Effects of Crime Index (ECI) and Safety Measure Index (SMI).COI and CCI were
respectively used to measure incidence and causes of crime in halls of residence
while ECI was used to measure effects of crime on students in their halls of residence.
SMI was used to measure various crime preventive measures in the halls of
residence. ANOVA was used to test the gender and hall variation in incidence,
causes and effects of crime as well as level of usage of safety measures among
different halls of residence in the University.
The study observed that stealing is the major type of crime in the study area with the
highest COI value of 4.10. This and other crime occurred mostly during the odd
hours of the day. There is no significant variation in perceived level of incidence of
crime among the sampled halls of residence in University of Ibadan. Poor security
measures with CCI value of 4.32 is the major contributing factor to level of crime
incidence in halls of residence. It was also revealed that one out of two students
living in the hall of residence has experienced crime in other hall(s) of residence.
There are gender differentials in incidence (F = 13.326, p = 0.001), causes (F =
43.821, p = 0.000) and effects (F = 44.361, p = 0.00) of crime in the study area.
Despite the level of crime occurrence, half of the respondents reported that they felt
safe in their respective hall of residence.
In order to create and maintain safe environment in halls of residence, the use of
conventional security measures like the use of Close Circuit Television (CCTV),
security door and locks should be adopted.
Keywords: Crime, students, safety measures, halls of residence

INTRODUCTION
The astronomical increase in crime rate is of great concern to the global community
(Animasahun, 2011). Crime has been variously defined. To Adler, Muellier, and Laufer
(2001) crime is any human conduct that violates criminal laws and is subject to punishment.
Onoge (1993) defined crime as an act or omission which renders the person doing the act or

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making the omission liable to punishment under any order in council, ordinance, law or
statute. Schmallenger (2004) viewed crime as a conduct violating the criminal laws of a state,
the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable
justification or excuse. Free dictionary (Accessed 13/12/2015) defined crime as an act
committed in violation of law where the consequence of conviction by a court is punishment,
especially where the punishment is a serious one such as imprisonment. In spite of the
differences in the definitions given by authors the fact remains that a crime is an act or
omission; prescribed by the state and has a punishment for its occurrence. It is a multifaceted
act that pervades all human existence; it is an act of commission or omission that negates any
law guiding a group of people (Olukolade and Adeyemo, 2013). Definition and scale of
measuring crime varies from one country to another and it is subjected to law of the land. For
instance in Nigeria, homosexuality is a crime (The Punch, 2015), but a homosexual is a free
man by the law of England (BBC News, 2014).
As environment is dynamic in nature so also is crime, it occurred across different land uses.
The dynamism of societies has make crime to transit from the street to other places like
schools. Schools are conceived to be valued institutions on which the Nation‟s foundations
are built upon and which serve as arena where the growth and stability of future generations
begins (Noonan and Vaura, 2007). Institutions of learning, according to Henry (2000) were
believed to be a safe haven for teaching and learning, free from crime and violence. The
record and experiences in the recent times negates this with rising tide of crime in schools
such that crime in schools and colleges is therefore one of the most troublesome social
problems in the nation today, because it does not only affect those involved in the criminal
incident, but it also hinders societal growth and stability (Noonan and Vaura, 2007). This has
attracted the attention of parents, policy makers and government agencies (Wosu and Ukulor,
2014).
Without a clear understanding of school crime, tracking incidents of crime will be
problematic (Hanke, 1996). According to Wali (2007) crime in schools are those varieties of
school related problems which are detrimental to the school communication and to the public
welfare. This crime ranges from threat to life to theft and violent attacks (Okechukwu, 2012).
Noonan et.al (2007) stated that situations surrounding crime at school locations vary based on
the offender‟s motive and the intended victim. Incidents involving student offenders and
student victims constitute the stereotypical definition of crime at school where the offender
and victim are present to participate in the activities occurring at the institution. Crimes in
school are in different form. For instance outsiders can commit crime within the school
premises and students are the victim; students can also commit crime and outsider is the
victim; school at times can also be used as crime scene when the perpetrator and victim are
not members of the institution.
Underlying factors for incidences of crime are not farfetched as the larger percentage of the
students are youth, Okechukwu (2012) ascertained that creativity and high energy are the
characteristics of young people and this will greatly benefit not only the economic prosperity
of the nations but also enhance the moral values of the youth if the energy is channeled
positively, but when the same energy is used negatively, it will lead to social unrest and
economic instability. The effects of crime in schools are felt both by the individuals
concerned, the entire school and the society at large. This has serious implication in the
realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria (Amaele, 2006).
The growing concerns about school crimes necessitate the need to carry out proper
investigations to ascertain the causes, effects and possible solutions to crime occurrence in

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halls of residence as this is a subset of school system which comprises of students with
different upbringing and social behaviour.

THE STUDY AREA

University of Ibadan lies between 7.44170N of latitude and 3.90000E and is situated in Ibadan
North Local Government of Oyo state. The institution started off as the University College;
Ibadan (UCI) which was founded in 1948, occupying, at first, an old site at Eleyele. It later
moved to the present site which covered over 2,550 acres of land. The site was generously
leased by the chiefs and people of Ibadan for 999years. The establishment of the University
could be traced directly to the report in 1945 of the Asquith and Elliot Commissions which
were set up by the British Government in 1943. There were 104 foundation students
(including 49 students in teacher training and survey courses) who began their courses at
Ibadan on 18th January 1948. The formal opening took place on 25th March, 1948.

Figure 1: Location of University of Ibadan within Ibadan Metropolis.

Source: Ministry of Land, Housing and Physical Planning, Ibadan. 2005.

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Figure 2: Master Plan Layout of the University of Ibadan

Source: Physical Planning Unit, University of Ibadan, 2013.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study made use of primary data obtained from questionnaire administered to students
living in the selected halls of residence of University of Ibadan. Information obtained
includes socio-economic characteristics of students, incidence, causes and effects of crime as
well as the preventive measures put in place.
The sample frame for the study consist of two (2) postgraduate halls and ten (10)
undergraduate (comprising eight male and two female) halls of residence in the University.
The sampling method used to choose halls of residence is gender sensitive because the two
female undergraduate halls of residence were selected together with three male halls and one
postgraduate hall containing male and female population. To determine the sample size, 4.0%
of the total students living in the selected halls of residence were chosen which sum up to two
hundred and eight (208) respondents. The sharing formula used was based on the capacity of
the selected halls of residence as presented in the Table1.
Table 1. Capacity of selected Hall of Residence and Number of Questionnaires
Administered
Number of
S/N Halls of Residence Capacity Percentage Questionnaire
Administered
1. Kuti Hall (A) 520 10.1 21

2. Queen Elizabeth II Hall (B) 550 10.6 22

3. Independence Hall (C) 978 18.8 39

4. Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall (D) 999 19.2 40

5. Idia Hall (E) 1,158 22.1 46

6. Abdulsalami Abubakar Hall (F) 1,000 19.2 40

TOTAL 5205 100.0 208

Source: University of Ibadan, Student Information Handbook 2014/2015 Session and

Author‟s Compilation, 2015.
At hall level, students were randomly picked by administering one (1) questionnaire per room
to any student willing to supply answer to the questionnaire until all the copies of
questionnaire assigned for each hall of residence were administered. Data analysis is
descriptive. Four indices were developed in this study. These are „Crime Occurrence Index‟
(COI), „Causes of Crime Index‟ (CCI), „Effects of Crime Index‟ (ECI) and „Safety Measure
Index‟ (SMI). The first and second indices were used to measure incidence and causes of
crime in halls of residence. The third index: ECI was used to obtained information on effects
of crime on the victim and the fourth index: SMI was developed to measure the safety
measure put in place to prevent and or control incidence of crime. COI was measured on the
ranking scale of Likert scale as: “very frequent” (5), “frequent” (4), “moderate” (3),
“occasionally” (2) and “very rare” (1). CCI, ECI and SMI were measured on the ranking
scale of Likert as: “strongly agree” (5), “agree” (4), “undecided” (3), “disagree” (2) and
“strongly disagree” (1). The OWV of each variable is the summation of the product of the
proportion of response to it and the weight attached to each rating.
COI (Crime Occurrence Index) = OWV/NR ………………………………………1

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CCI (Cause of Crime Index) = OWV/NR …………………………………………2

ECI (Effect of Crime Index) = OWV/NR …………………………………………3
SMI (Safety Measure Index) = OWV/NR ………………………………….…… 4
OWV (Overall Weight Value) = NRiVi…………………………………………. .5
Where
NRi (f) = Number of Respondent rating variable i
Vi= Weight assigned to variable i; and

A= Kuti Hall, f= 21; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall, f= 22; C= Independence Hall, f= 39,
D= Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall, f= 40; E= Idia Hall, f= 46; and F= Abdulsalami Abubakar Hall, f=
40,
The index values generated for COI, CCI, ECI, and SMI were subjected to Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) on gender and hall basis in order to determine the significance or
otherwise of the variations calculated.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Socio – Economic Characteristics of Students in Sampled Halls of Residence
Crime is not an abstract phenomena it occurred in space and time and can been influenced
and be compounded by a wide ranging socio-economic and environmental context (Adigun
and Adedibu, 2013). This is why the socio economic features of the sampled students are
considered here.
Larger proportion of male (59.1%) responded in the study area than female (40.9%). The
major reason is that the institution has more male hall of residence than female hall of
residence. The age of the respondents varies, majority of the students between the age of 16-
25years constituted 49.0%, while other age bracket are 26-35years (42.3%), 36-45years
(7.7%) and those above 45years had the lowest proportion amongst the whole population
with 1.0%.
Major proportion of the respondents is in the second year of their academic pursuit with
22.1%. Those in first year and third year have the same percentage of 18.3%. Students in the
fourth and fifth year accounted for 13.0% and 9.2% respectively. Those undergoing
postgraduate programmes accounted for 19.2%. An overwhelming proportion of the
respondents are Yoruba with 59.1%, followed by Igbo with 27.4%. Hausa accounted for
7.2% while Non-Nigerians are 6.3% of the respondents. This disparity can be explained by
the location of the University.
Respondents who had monthly income/allowance of between N 10, 001: 00- N 20, 000:00
constituted 47.6% of the respondents, 21.6% earned between N 20.001- N 30, 000:00, 19.2%
earned below N10, 000:00. Respondents who earned between N 30, 001:00- N 40, 000:00
accounted for 9.1% and those who earned above N 40, 000:00 accounted for 2.4% of the
respondents. Since the capacity of the students‟ hall of residence varies. It was confirmed by
46.2% of the respondents that the number of students per room is between 3- 4, 33.2%
indicated that there is 5-6 students per room. Larger proportion of the students (62.5%)
agreed that the population of students in their hall of residence is moderate while 37.5% of
them said the population is not moderate. Students who have been living in the halls of
residence for a period of 1-2years have the highest proportion of 46.2%, those living in the

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halls for 3-4years accounted for 31.3%. Students living in the halls less than a year accounted
for 16.3% and students who had been living in the halls for the period of 5-6years accounted
for 6.3%.
Types and Incidence of Crime
Crime in halls of residence can be regarded as offences/breaches of hall rules and regulations.
Common crime types in halls of residence are:
1. Stealing: Unauthorized removal of a property that belongs to another person, with the
intention of depriving the person permanently of it.
2. Squatting of student: Is an action of allowing a fellow student to occupy a room in which
he/she does not rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use.
3. Squatting of non-students: Is an action of accommodating someone who is not a student of
the University to be living in Hall of residence.
4. Squatting of rusticated or expelled student: Is an action of allowing a rusticated/expelled
student from the University to occupy a room.
5. Occultism: It is an act of belonging to small religion group that is not part of a larger and
more accepted religion and that has belief that is not generally accepted.
6. Rape: A forcible sexual relation with a person against that person‟s will.
7. Drug abuse: It is the recurrent use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or over-
the-counter drugs with negative consequences.
8. Assault: It is an act carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present
ability to cause the harm.
9. Internet fraud: Is an act of engaging in crime using computer network.
10. Arson: An act of setting a fire with intent to cause damage.
11. Bribery: An activity of making illegal payment, to bribe a person in official positions as a
means of influencing their decisions.
12. Violence: It is an act which disrupts the peaceful atmosphere that causes destruction, pain
and suffering.
13. Car hijacking: To forcibly stop and seize control of vehicle in other to rob the owner.
14. Kidnapping: To seize and detain a person unlawfully; sometimes for ransom.
15. Forgery: The act of making or altering writing or signature purporting to be made by
another.
16. Burglary: An act of forcibly opening another person‟s door or window to gain entrance
into the room with the intension of stealing.
17. House breaking: An unlawful act of breaking into any building at any time of day or
night with intent to commit a crime.
The perceived level of incidence crime was measured by an index termed COI. The COI
value of any crime type lies between 1 and 5. The highest value of COI attainable by any
crime type is 5.0 while the least value is 1.0. The mean COI value calculated is 2.10. Any
crime type with higher COI value than the mean have high incidence while those below the
mean have low level of incidence. Stealing has the highest crime occurrence index (COI) in
the sampled halls of residence with COI value of 4.10. The highest level of incidence of

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stealing was indicated for Nnamdi Azikiwe hall. This is a male undergraduate hall of
residence. Squatting of students, squatting of non-students, drug abuse, assault and squatting
of expelled or rusticated students also have the COI of 3.30, 2.72, 2.70, 2.48 and 2.34
respectively. Other types of crime investigated have low incidence. It was observed that
49.5% of the respondents have experienced crime in other hall of residence. Some of this
victim have experience more than one crime in other hall of residence. Common crime
experienced by students in other halls of residence is stealing. It was gathered that the
commonly stolen items are mobile phone and laptop.
The COI values calculated for the male students were compared with that of the female
students in order to investigate the variation in perceived incidence of crime in hall of
residence. There is significant variation in the perception of level of incidence of crime
between male and female students (F = 13.326, p = 0.001). This implies that the perception of
incidence of various types of crime by male students differs significantly from the way
female students perceived it. Though there are incidences of various types of crime in
selected halls of residence yet their opinion on level of incidence varies. Thus there is gender
differential in the perceived incidence of crime in the study area. This is also confirmed by
the result of ANOVA used in comparing the mean COI for the halls of residence. It was
observed that there is significant variation in the perception of crime by students living in
different halls of residence (F = 2.359, p = 0.048). This indicates that students‟ perception of
incidence of different types of crime is not the same in the selected halls of residence. This
conclusion is vivid in the mean level of incidence of crime in the selected halls of residence.
The male halls seem to have higher mean COI: Independence hall (COI = 2.71); Nnamdi
Azikiwe Hall (COI = 2.36) and Kuti hall (COI =2.05) than the female halls: Idia hall (COI =
1.95) and Queen Elizabeth hall (COI = 1.56). The selected postgraduate hall (Abdulsalami
Abubakar Hall) with mixed gender has COI of 1.97.
Night time was majorly indicated by respondents for the occurrence of crime types such as
squatting of students (46.2%), squatting of non-student (45.7%) and stealing (43.3%). While
23.1% of the respondents affirmed that crime like assault occurred in the afternoon. Crime
rarely occurred in the morning and afternoon even though majority of the students would
have gone for lectures during these periods. This situation indicts a serious inquiry. Are there
better security surveillance moves during the day than night time? Is surveillance made easy
in the morning and night time since majority of the students are not in the halls? Do criminals
frame anonymity as students to penetrate halls when students are around in their halls? Are
perpetrators of crime residents of the halls or outsiders? For some crime types it is
understandable that they are committed in the night. Such include various types of squatting
which offender will use the night as a cover from being seen by Porters responsible for safe
guarding the halls. It could be inferred that security of the hall of residence is porous during
the odd hours of the day and this allows criminals to carry out their different activities (see
Table 3). This may be as result of difficulty in differentiating between hall residents and
criminals.

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Table 2. Students’ Perceived Level of Occurrence of Crime in the Hall of Residence

COI for the Hall of Residence COI-*COI (COI-*COI)2

Crime Types COI
A B C D E F
Stealing 4.47 3.55 4.59 4.68 3.76 3.50 4.10 2.00 4.00
Squatting of student 4.29 2.14 4.59 4.13 2.43 2.20 3.30 1.20 1.44
Squatting of non-student 3.57 1.55 4.03 3.68 1.98 1.50 2.72 0.62 0.38
Drug abuse 3.29 1.81 3.97 2.80 1.85 2.45 2.70 0.60 0.36
Assault 1.23 1.95 3.92 3.58 1.87 2.33 2.48 0.38 0.14
Squatting of rusticated or
2.95 1.18 3.95 2.65 1.74 1.58 2.34 0.24 0.06
expelled student
Violence 1.52 1.41 3.05 1.90 1.78 1.93 1.93 -0.17 0.03
Bribery 1.29 1.68 2.21 1.75 2.07 2.13 1.86 -0.24 0.06
Internet fraud 1.48 1.27 2.87 1.50 1.67 2.30 1.85 -0.25 0.06
Occultism 1.19 1.14 1.51 2.08 1.87 1.73 1.59 -0.51 0.26
Forgery 1.05 1.18 1.79 1.45 1.74 1.80 1.50 -0.60 0.36
Rape 1.05 1.14 1.03 1.45 1.76 1.68 1.35 -0.75 0.56
Arson 1.19 1.14 1.00 1.35 1.57 1.55 1.30 -0.80 0.64
Car hijacking 1.05 1.14 1.15 1.20 1.57 1.38 1.25 -0.85 0.72
Kidnapping 1.05 1.14 1.05 1.20 1.52 1.50 1.24 -0.86 0.74
TOTAL 30.77 23.42 40.71 35.40 29.18 29.56 31.51
COI 2.05 1.56 2.71 2.36 1.95 1.97 *2.10

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2015.

A= Kuti Hall; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall; C= Independence Hall; D= Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall; E= Idia Hall; and F= AbdulsalamiAbubakar Hall.

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Table 3. Students’ Perception on Time of Crime in the Selected Halls of Residence

Time of Crime
Various Crime TOTAL
Morning Afternoon Evening Night No response
F % f % F % f % f % f %
Stealing 42 20.1 35 16.8 37 17.8 90 43.3 4 2.0 208 100.0
Squatting of student 11 5.2 17 8.2 39 18.8 96 46.2 45 21.6 208 100.0
Squatting of non-student 4 1.9 11 5.3 56 26.9 95 45.7 42 20.2 208 100.0
Squatting of rusticated or expelled
2 0.9 9 4.3 33 15.9 80 38.5 84 40.4 208 100.0
student
Occultism 3 1.4 4 1.9 21 10.1 63 30.3 117 56.3 208 100.0
Rape 5 2.4 8 3.8 15 7.2 28 13.5 152 73.1 208 100.0
Drug abuse 12 5.8 11 5.2 47 22.6 68 32.7 70 33.7 208 100.0
Assault 12 5.7 48 23.1 44 21.2 33 15.9 71 34.1 208 100.0
Internet fraud 7 3.4 14 6.7 26 12.5 36 17.3 125 60.1 208 100.0
Arson 3 1.4 16 7.7 16 7.7 17 8.2 156 75.0 208 100.0
Bribery 8 3.8 27 13.0 43 20.7 14 6.7 116 55.8 208 100.0
Violence 13 6.3 21 10.1 35 16.8 31 14.9 108 51.9 208 100.0
Car hijacking 4 3.8 5 2.4 12 5.8 31 14.9 152 73.1 208 100.0
Kidnapping 3 1.4 7 3.4 12 5.8 35 16.8 151 72.6 208 100.0
Forgery 6 2.9 14 6.7 19 9.1 28 13.5 141 67.8 208 100.0

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2015.

Note: A= Kuti Hall; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall; C= Independence Hall; D= Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall; E= Idia Hall; and F= AbdulsalamiAbubakar Hall.

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Causes of Crime Incidences in Students’ Halls of Residence

Causes of crime vary across the study area but major cause of crime according to the
perception of the respondents is poor security measure with highest CCI value of 4.32. Other
causes of crime in decreasing order are poverty (4.26), drugs (4.23), family condition (3.80)
and overpopulation with index of 3.66. There is gender differential in perceived causes of
crime in halls of residence. It is observed that there is significant variation in the perception
of causes of crime between the male and female students in halls of residence (F = 43.821, p
= 0.000). This is however different from the result obtained when the index values were
compared on hall basis. There is no significant variation in the perception of causes of crime
in selected halls of residence (F = 2.224, p = 0.070). This is noticeable in the data presented
in Table 4. For instance in Kuti hall and Independence hall poor security measure is the factor
aiding crime occurrence with CCI of 4.19 and 4.77 respectively but use of drug is perceived
as the major cause of crime in Queen Elizabeth and Nnamdi Azikiwe halls with CCI of 4.50
and 4.63 respectively. Poverty is the major contributing factor of crime in Idia hall (CCI =
4.33) and Abdulsalami Abubakar hall (CCI = 4.38).
Table 4. Students’ Perceived Causes of Crime in the Hall of Residence

CCI for the Hall of Residence CCI- (CCI-

Causes CCI *CCI *CCI)2
A B C D E F
Poor security
4.19 4.27 4.77 4.53 3.80 4.35 4.32 0.62 0.384
measure
Poverty 3.90 4.14 4.56 4.33 4.24 4.38 4.26 0.56 0.314

Drug 4.14 4.50 4.41 4.63 3.50 4.20 4.23 0.53 0.281

Family condition 3.23 3.59 4.15 3.75 4.02 4.03 3.80 0.10 0.010

Overpopulation 3.90 2.59 4.62 3.93 2.89 4.00 3.66 -0.04 0.002
Depression and
3.90 2.50 4.13 4.53 2.54 3.55 3.53 -0.17 0.029
mental disorder
TV violence 3.23 3.09 3.92 3.58 2.39 2.58 3.13 -0.57 0.325

Racism 2.81 2.64 2.38 3.43 2.13 2.68 2.68 -1.02 1.040

TOTAL 29.30 27.32 32.94 32.71 25.51 29.77 29.61

*CCI 3.66 3.42 4.12 4.09 3.19 3.72 3.70

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2015.

Note: A= Kuti Hall; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall; C= Independence Hall; D= Nnamdi Azikiwe
Hall; E= Idia Hall; and F= Abdulsalami Abubakar Hall.
Adigun and Adedibu (2013) considered fear as an emotional response to crime while the use
of safety measure is taken as physical response to crime. Worrying of becoming victim of
crime is the major concern of students‟ living in the hall of residence with ECI value of
4.31(see Table 5). Other effects include loss of property and depression with ECI value of
4.27 and 4.16 respectively. Effects like „worried of knowing the victim of crime‟ (ECI =
3.41), post-traumatic stress disorder (ECI = 3.32), disrupts general atmosphere (ECI = 3.26)

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and suicide (ECI = 2.39) has the least ECI value. The comparison of effects of crime on
gender basis showed that there is significant variation in the perceived effects of crime
between the male and female students (F = 44.361, p = 0.00). In the same vein there is
significant variation in students‟ perceived effects of crime among halls of residence which
implies that effects of crime are perceived differently by students living in different halls of
residence (F = 2.699, p = 0.03).
Table 5. Students’ Perceived Effects of Crime in Hall of Residence

ECI for the Hall of Residence ECI- (ECI-

Effects ECI *ECI *ECI)2
A B C D E F
Worrying
becoming a 3.81 4.86 4.15 4.55 4.15 4.33 4.31 0.64 0.4096
victim of crime
Loss of
4.00 4.64 4.59 4.45 3.78 4.13 4.27 0.60 0.3600
properties
Depression 4.24 4.45 4.59 4.63 4.24 2.83 4.16 0.49 0.24
Feeling unsafe
walking alone 3.71 4.50 4.36 4.33 3.00 3.63 3.92 0.25 0.0625
at night
Poor academic
3.90 3.73 4.21 4.33 2.98 3.68 3.81 0.14 0.0196
performance
Feeling unsafe
alone in the 3.57 3.82 3.97 4.45 2.83 3.58 3.70 0.03 0.0009
room
Worried of
knowing the 3.76 2.95 4.08 4.15 2.65 3.45 3.51 -0.16 0.0256
victim of crime
Post-traumatic
4.00 2.05 4.03 3.55 3.22 3.08 3.32 -0.35 0.12
stress disorder
Disrupt
serenity of 3.23 3.00 3.90 3.90 2.15 3.40 3.26 -0.41 0.1681
environment
Suicide 2.05 2.14 2.54 2.63 2.15 2.80 2.39 -1.28 1.6384

TOTAL 36.27 36.14 40.42 40.97 31.15 34.91 36.65

*ECI 3.63 3.61 4.04 4.10 3.12 3.49 3.67

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2015.

Note : A= Kuti Hall; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall; C= Independence Hall; D= Nnamdi Azikiwe
Hall; E= Idia Hall; and F= AbdulsalamiAbubakar Hall.
Students’ Perceived Level of Usage of Safety Measures in Hall of Residence
From direct observation it was observed that all the halls of residence has entrance gate
conspicuously located and free from bushes. Hall Potters are in charge of managing and
maintaining orders in the halls of residence. The school security unit manage security
situation within the campus. The hall Potters carry out surveillance within and around hostels
and refer crime cases beyond their control to the security unit. These and other security
measures identified in the study area were rated by respondents to indicate their perceived

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level of utility in each hall of residence in the school (Table 5.3). An index termed Safety
Measure Index (SMI) was developed to achieve this. The mean level of usage of safety
measure in the whole institution is 4.47, a value higher than the mean SMI of different halls.
Queen Elizabeth has the highest SMI in the study area with 4.61 while Kuti hall has the
lowest SMI of 4.22. The presence of street light was identified as a safety measure of high
usage (SMI = 4.72). Others in this category are: school security system (SMI = 4.62);
security doors (SMI = 4.57) and burglary proof in the room (SMI = 4.53). Availability of
surveillance camera and contribution of paramilitary are not the key preventive measures
against crime occurrence as they have the least SMI of 4.24 and 4.13 respectively. Though
the presence of safety measure cannot totally stop crime but may reduce level of incidence as
well as increase the time for the perpetrators to carry out their evil act. These observable
differences in perceived level of usage of safety measures on hall basis is not significant (F
=1.076, p = 0.393). This not withstanding there is significant gender differential in the
perceived level of usage of safety measures in halls of residence (F = 72.571, p = 0.000). This
implies that the male students perceived level of usage of safety measures differently from
the female students.
Table 6. Students’ Perceived Level of Usage of Safety Measures in Hall of Residence
SMI for the Hall of Residence SMI SMI- (SMI-
Safety *SMI *SMI)2
measures A B C D E F

4.76 4.64 4.74 4.70 4.76 4.70 4.72 0.25 0.063

Street light
School security 4.67 4.77 4.67 4.53 4.46 4.63 4.62 0.15 0.023
system
4.67 4.55 4.74 4.58 4.63 4.25 4.57 0.10 0.010
Security door
4.43 4.59 4.87 4.58 4.65 4.33 4.53 0.06 0.004
Room burglary
Surveillance 3.38 4.68 3.87 4.55 4.59 4.38 4.24 -0.23 0.053
camera
Paramilitary 3.38 4.45 4.08 4.28 4.35 4.23 4.13 -0.34 0.116
organization
25.29 27.68 26.97 27.22 27.44 26.52 26.81
TOTAL
4.22 4.61 4.50 4.54 4.57 4.42 4.47
*SMI

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2015.

Note : A= Kuti Hall; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall; C= Independence Hall; D= Nnamdi Azikiwe
Hall; E= Idia Hall; and F= AbdulsalamiAbubakar Hall.
Students’ Perceived Level of Safety in Hall of Residence
Half of the sampled respondents in the study area indicated that they feel safe in their
respectively hall of residence, 26.0% of them reported that they are fairly safe, 22.1% feel
very safe, while 1.9% of the respondents said they do feel not safe. Feeling of safety is
subjective it can never be the same for two individuals even under the same situation.
However the fact that majority of the students feel either very safe or safe with cumulative
average of 72.1% indicates that hostel environment is relatively safe for habitation of
students.

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Overwhelming proportion of respondents (76.2%) from Kuti hall, 52.5% from Nnamdi
Azikiwe hall, 50% of respondents each from Idia hall and Abdulsalami Abubakar hall and
46.2% of respondents from Independence hall indicated that they feel safe living in their hall
of residence. A significant 40.9% of respondents in Queen Elizabeth hall reported that they
are very safe in their hall of residence. Approximately a little above 70% of the students feel
safe in their respective hall of residence. Despite variation in perceived level of incidence
there is a general feeling of being safe.
Table 7. Students’ Perceived Level of Safety in Hall of Residence

Halls of Residence
Feelings Queen Nnamdi Abdusalami Total
Kuti Independence Idia
Elizabeth Azikwe Abubakar
Hall Hall Hall
Hall Hall Hall
Very safe 0.0 40.9 30.8 17.5 21.7 20.0 22.1

Safe 76.2 27.3 46.2 52.5 50.0 50.0 50.0

Fairly
23.8 31.8 20.5 30.0 23.9 27.5 26.0
safe
Not safe 0.0 0.0 2.5 0.0 4.4 2.5 1.9

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2015.

Note: A= Kuti Hall; B= Queen Elizabeth Hall; C= Independence Hall; D= Nnamdi Azikiwe
Hall; E= Idia Hall; and F= Abdulsalami Abubakar Hall.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

The study observed that there is significant variation in the perceived incidence, causes and
effects of crime across the selected halls of residence. Night and evening time are also
identified as the crime prevailing periods. The findings revealed that factors such as poor
security measures, poverty, drugs among others are factors responsible for high crime
incidence in the study area. Despite the level of incidence of crime more than seventy percent
of the residents however feel safe. The study suggests the following measures of reducing
incidence of crime in halls of residence. University hall of residence should be designed or
redesigned with installation of conventional safety gadgets such as alarm system, CCTV,
automated security doors. School security should be assigned to each hall of residence instead
of dedicating the duty to hall Potters only. Visitors and residents should pass through the
security or hall potter for check and registration of properties. Residents should be issued
with residency identification card. This will assist in tracking the strangers. Fresh students
should be properly oriented on security issues in hall of residence so as to reduce the
probability of becoming a victim of crime. School crime is a deviant act as a result of
confusion, frustration and sometime share wickedness, students should therefore be subjected
to compulsory counseling for self-understanding, reorientation for overcoming life challenges
instead of resorting to crime.
Adherence to these recommendations will undoubtedly lead to extreme reduction in crime
incidence and will make the halls of residence a safe haven for students.

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